The Artists on the Block - A New Year

It is not quite the New Year, I know, but I am sitting here wondering where on earth the last two weeks have gone!

My Design Team project for January for The Artists on the Block (where Amy is showing a summary of the team's favourites from 2014) is a perpetual calendar - I promise this is my last one but I have really enjoyed making these for some special people in my life.

The calendar is made up using Eileen Hull's Artist Trading Block die by Sizzix #658984 and it has three blocks on the one die and is my favourite go to die for 3D projects.  I used the smallest block for the calendar months and days and then created a base for them to sit in.

I hope this last calendar has now arrived safely at its destination.  If not, hopefully it will be a nice surprise when it does!

I used some fabulous Bo Bunny papers that I had been saving in my stash, I wanted the calendar to have a light and fresh look, suitable for all year long.

You can see from this view, the shape that the base needs to be in order to angle the months and numbers.  The angle inside the base is quite deep so that the days and months can be viewed easily.

And finally the back view.  The calendar blocks have been covered with the same papers with some light distressing to the edges.  The months have been added with tissue paper.  I typed the months out and then added a sheet of tissue paper to a sheet of printer paper with a strip of tape across the top and ran it through my printer.  I used Glue 'N' Seal to add the tissue to the blocks and then coated the blocks with the seam medium (as the blocks will be handled quite regularly).

Eileen has a challenge running on her Art With Heart blog HERE with the theme of 'Fresh Ideas'.  As always, there is a wonderful prize on offer.  It would be lovely if you did use a Sizzix die but Eileen just wants to see what is inspiring you at the moment - your fresh ideas!

If you would like to see the Artists on the Block Design Team favourites from 2014 you can see them HERE.  You will find lots of wonderful inspiration if you need a kick-start for this new year!

Thanks for looking and I really appreciate any comments you leave!  Big hugs,  Anne xx

A Haunted House....!

Before I show you the house I just wanted to say that as well as being on the DT for The Artists on the Block, I have now also joined Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team - I am so thrilled !!  Eileen is the fantastic designer behind Artist Trading Blocks which so many of have come to love.  It is awe inspiring to see the wonderful way people use these little blocks and create some astonishing little works of art!

My Haunted House was made for both The Artists on the Block and also Eileen's Art with Heart Inspiration Team.

Eileen is offering a fantastic prize for her latest Art with Heart Challenge - Tricks and Treats which you can find HERE.  The prize is one of Eileen's Scoreboard Artist Trading Block Dies!  That's one challenge not to be missed!!

On to the house now........ here it is finished.

Those who know me, know how much I adore Halloween in spite of the fact that it is not widely celebrated here in the UK, so having some of Tim Holtz's dies is a must for me.  I gathered all my elements together first.

Two of Eileen's large blocks and four of the medium size all cut from mat board and heavy card.  I cut some windows from an old Spellbinders die and cut the rest of my embellishments from Tim Holtz dies - the fence, the little people, and the border trim to cover up the joins.

before constructing the boxes I cut a few windows and doors and used some cut up blocks to create the roof line.  One of the larger blocks opens at the back of the house so that a tea light (battery operated) can sit inside to provide some spooky light.

At this point I got a little carried away with the construction and did not take photos.....  The house was painted with my new favourite - IndigoBlu's black Gesso (Gee-Sso Good), it gives the most wonderful matte finish and it has chalkboard like qualities.  I dipped my fingers into Picket Fence Distress Paint to give the black walls a distressed look.

The roof tiles were simply strips of grey pearlised card which again was distressed with Picket Fence DP.  The curtains are made from white gauze stained with Spiced Marmalade Spray Distress Stain,  If you have not tried the spray stains yet - please do, they are fabulous to use.

I made a wreath for the front door using Tim's tinsel and some string which was coloured with stain.  The tree was sprayed with Black Soot Spray Distress Stain, lightly coated with Ranger Multi Medium Matte and then dipped in Dusty Concord Distress Glitter, it has just the right amount of sparkle without being too 'in your face'.  Some florist moss was added in the garden.

The tree was created using one of Tim's embossing folders (I don't have the tree die yet), I embossed black card and fussy cut the tree out and added some Autumn Leaves from one of Tim's foliage strip dies.  I added a tombstone and a jolly pumpkin for added interest.

This is the best picture I could get to show how the house looks lit up!  I love the owl's eyes - very creepy!

I hope you like my Haunted House and feel inspired to create something for Eileen's Challenge - don't forget that great prize that is on offer!

This is my main Halloween piece for this year but I will also be bringing out my box from last year - for those who may have missed it..........

Can you see the same shaped house and also the tree?  I did this as part of a tutorial that the fabulous Richele Christensen did last year.

I would like to enter my Haunted House into Simon Says Stamp blog Monday Challenge where the challenge is 'O'.  My 'O' is October and owl for the owl in the tree...  there is a fabulous prize of $50 on offer for one lucky winner.

I am also linking up to the Sizzix Challenge - Halloween HERE as I used a number of Sizzix dies in my creation - Eileen Hull's Artist Trading Block dies, Tim Holtz Autumn Gatherings, Halloween Shadows, Vintage Lace and also the On the Fence On the Edge Die.  The fabulous prize is a selection of Tim's new releases!

Thanks for looking and I hope to see you again soon.  Take care.  Hugs, Anne xx

The Artists on the Block - Seahorse ATB

The Artists on the Block have teamed up with the wonderfully talented designers at Frilly and Funkie for a blog hop called Hip to be Square.  If you have not been over yet to see the amazing and fabulous blocks created by the Design Team, then please do have a look, they are a set of incredibly talented ladies!

If you would like to create an Artist Trading Block (ATB) or cube (not necessarily with the ATB die) and you follow the challenge rules you will be able to enter the Hip to be Square Challenge (there are still a few days left) at Frilly and Funkie and also the Artists on the Block companion challenge, Eileen Hull's Art with Heart Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes (you have until the end of the month).  Eileen is the talented designer of the ATB die.

There are great prizes on offer - at Frilly and Funkie, the lovely Linda Coughlin is offering a £25 voucher to spend in her amazing and very reasonably priced Boutique and over at Art with Heart, Eileen Hull is offering one of her brand new Vintage Kitchen dies (which are to be released later this year).  I am linking my block to the F&F challenge, which is to create something Vintage or Shabby Chic.

For my Design Team piece for the Artists on the Block, I have made what I call a shabby chic seaside Artist Trading Block.  This is a different style for me but I loved every moment of creating this one!

And a view from the top:

I started by gathering all the items I wanted to use including my die cut Artist Trading Block. I lined the inside of the block some wonderful papers by Craftwork Cards.  The edges of the block have been coloured with Broken China Distress Paint.

I cut some mats from the Craftwork paper, some Core-dinations card and the top layer is Ranger Watercolour card.  I distressed each layer to within an inch of it's life (!) to try to give it a shabby chic look and feel.  You should have seen my desk when I had finished.....!

Each of these images was stamped with embossing ink and then white embossing powder added and heated. I took inspiration for this technique from a fabulous creation made by the amazing Anna-Karin, which you can see HERE.  I watercoloured the backgrounds in the same way Anna-Karin did, just lightly washing the colour on (using Distress Ink and a water brush) and not being too worried about uniformity.

I very lightly edged each layer with Broken China Distress Ink before layering them onto the block.

Here is a view of the top again.  I added some sea shells, a stamped and coloured star fish, a stamped and coloured seahorse some die cut and hand cut grasses and lots of sand 'a la Tim Holtz', I love the way it looks.

Thanks so much for looking, hope to see you all again bright and early tomorrow when there is a new challenge starting over at A Vintage Journey.  Hugs, Anne xx

The Artists on the Block - Exciting News!

Hello everyone.  I think those of you who follow me regularly already know how much I love working with ATBs (Artist Trading Blocks) designed by the wonderfully talented designer, Eileen Hull, who designs for Sizzix.   Well, I have some wonderful news!

I am completely thrilled and very excited to have been invited to join Team ATB at THE ARTISTS ON THE BLOCK -  by Eileen and the fantastic designer Amy Bowerman, who leads Team ATB!  How fabulous is that!  I have had to keep it under my hat for a little while now and I cannot wait to get started...

The very talented Design Team create ATBs using Eileen's fantastic dies, which I have had the pleasure of using for a few months now.  One of my loves is creating 3D projects - the dies are so versatile and can be adapted in different ways, as the Design Team and many others have shown.  As Amy says, 'ATBs are the building blocks of creativity' and she is so right.  If you want to be totally blown away by some examples of ATBs have a look at the Pinterest page, there are some fabulous ideas there.

In honour of joining this amazing team I have made a special project, dedicated to Eileen, which in my own small way shows the versatility of the blocks.  If you have not tried using these blocks, please do, they are such fun.... and very addictive.  So, on to my first official creation for Team ATB:

From this (can you see what it might be?)

To this - a steam train.... quirky and lots of fun to make!

I used a mix of dies, obviously Eileen Hull's ATB, other Sizzix dies for the windows and doors, Tim Holtz sized circles for the wheels (along with Brushed Pewter Distress Paint) and I added a few Prima embellishments for lights, wheel nuts and bumpers - the rest is simply strong black card, with a little red thrown in.

My lovely DH is very keen on steam trains and he lent me his rail track to stand it on, he has since claimed the steam train as his own...

As I said, I wanted to show the versatility of the ATBs here but there is no need to create elaborate pieces - but it is great fun and I have lots more ideas in my head! If you pop over to The Artists on the Block HERE you will see lots of innovative ATBs that the inspirational Design Team created during this past month alone. 

Eileen also has a monthly challenge called Art With Heart where you can express your creativity (not just with ATBs either) based on a challenge theme and there are wonderful prizes on offer.  It is definitely worth a look there too, if you have the time (the May challenge has now finished).

Amy has asked me to show a few of my favourite projects from the past few months.  Click on the photos for a larger view.

One of my most favourite projects is the beach hut I created, details of which you can find here.  This showcases the versatility of Eileen's ATB die beautifully and also my love of 3D objects.  The hut now lives with my lovely friend Mo in her seaside themed guest room.

Another favourite project is my Mini Storage Box, a 3D project that showcases my love of all things Tim Holtz, I used Tim's beautiful Wallflower papers, Remnant Rubs and Idea-ology, the details are here.

My third project is a favourite from last year - an altered clock base, another of Tim Holtz's Idea-ology pieces - full details here.

Well, I think I have kept you long enough.  Thank you for looking, I hope you like my steam train and I hope you will follow my adventures with  ATBs and maybe even make some yourselves!  Take care and I hope to see you soon.  Hugs, Anne xx